With A Little Help From My Friends
by uname
Summary: Marco and Hazel are on a mission. A look a Paige & Alex’s relationship from the eyes of their friends. [Post High Fidelity]
1. Prologue

**With A Little Help From My Friends**  
by uname  
**Rating:** T  
**Pairing(s):** Palex  
**Summary:** Marco and Hazel are on a mission. A look a Paige & Alex's relationship from the eyes of their friends. Post-High Fidelity.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Degrassi.  
**Title Credit:** If you haven't heard The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends", then surely you've heard Joe Cocker's. And if you haven't heard either, then you might've at least heard Sam and Mark's. And if you're one of the unfortunate few who haven't heard any of the many versions, I'll say a prayer for you.  
**Author's Note:** I've been sitting on this fic for a while now. It's pretty much done, all I've gotta do is post it. There are about nine chapters planned, not including the prologue and epilogue. R&R, and I hope you enjoy this.

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When Hazel Aden and Marco Del Rossi were given a challenge, they'd tackle it head on. When faced with stacking odds, they'd try until they beat them. When destined to fail, they'd defy fate. So when the two of them saw their friends unhappy, they decided to do everything possible to change that. But this was proving to be nearly impossible, even for them. 

Their mission was to get two of their best friends back together – Paige Michalchuk and Alex Nunez. Hazel and Marco had watched their relationship grow throughout the school year, and were shocked to hear of their break-up. While they were sure that they were meant to be together, Alex's unreasonable stubbornness mixed with Paige's unrelenting pride was an almost infuriating combination.

During the first week of summer, the two almost got back together. This was when Hazel first decided to make their reunion her goal. Always hinting at the fact that the two of them were 'meant to be', it seemed like she would never sleep until "Palex reunited." Usually, Alex would brush this off, accusing Hazel of insanity or suggesting she do things that involved jumping off cliffs. But Hazel could see through her façade – Alex was still in love with Paige.

Paige, too, blatantly still had feelings for Alex. She did a poorer job of hiding this, even soon admitting this to Hazel a few days after grad.

"I knew it! You love her!" Hazel said once Paige told her, clapping her hands together with glee.

"Shut up!" she yelled, causing a few people to turn their heads. Paige turned red.

Hazel couldn't help the huge grin on her face, like she had just heard the juiciest piece of gossip. Paige had every reason to be worried. The fact that she looked terrified made Hazel even happier.

When Marco showed up, she didn't hesitate to share Paige's secret. As Paige was just about to crawl under the table and die, he revealed his "love for Palex" (as he put it). Still, she was adamant that she wouldn't pursue anything with Alex.

"She broke up with me, remember? I bet she doesn't even see me that way anymore," Paige insisted.

Unbeknownst to Paige, Hazel recruited Marco's help, and they cooked up their "Palex Plan". They would use words like "destiny", "fate" and other corny terms when referring to the two. They would take turns reminding each girl about their object's finer qualities. They would push the two to spend more alone time together. Anything they could do to feed the fire. This seemed to be effective, sometimes even persuading Alex to break her resolve.

Alex was the problem. She seemed almost terrified of the thought of being happy. Marco and Hazel had to endure Alex's tantrums over their actions many times, but they still refused to give up.

Hazel insisted that she give it another shot. When Alex told her where to shove it, Hazel got Marco to try to persuade her. And when his Italian charms failed, the two tag-teamed.

"You made her less mean! And she made you less scary!" Marco said one night to Alex, when Paige was in Kingston apartment shopping with her parents.

Alex shook her head angrily. "You guys annoy the fuck out of me, you know that, right?"

"You two were_ perfect_ together!" Marco continued, ignoring her outburst.

Of course, Hazel had to contribute. "Even though her and Spin hooked up after you two broke up, she was totally reeling over losing you. It meant nothing to her!"

As masterful as the mastermind was, she really shouldn't have been allowed to speak. As soon as she said that, Marco banged his head against the table and groaned, while she sputtered incoherently.

Alex didn't see the humour in the situation and left without a word. She coped the best way she could – she did her, '_I'm Alex, I'm gonna ignore everyone for the week_,' act.

It didn't take long for Paige to notice Alex's freeze-out. Completely confused, she met Hazel and Marco at The Dot to find out why she was in one of her moods. When she asked, Marco suddenly became really interested in stirring his black coffee. Hazel (again) just sputtered incoherently.

"What's going on guys?" Paige asked, threateningly.

Hazel finally broke. "We…_I_…might've…told Alex _something_ by accident," she mumbled vaguely. "About you…and Spin."

Paige gasped, clasping her hand against her mouth. With a glare she also stormed out. A few hours later however, Hazel got word from Paige that things with Alex were fine. No, they weren't back together, but Alex had forgiven her, so Paige had no choice but to forgive them.

That was June. It was already the end of July. And since then, Palex had reverted back to their 'will-they-won't-they' relationship. The two pretended to not have feelings for each other, while Hazel and Marco pretended not to have the urge to gag every time they had to witness this.

Hazel was determined to fix her mistake, and Marco was determined to help. The only thing they could think of was strength in numbers. If those two, their dearest and closest of friends, couldn't convince them, then it would take more bodies, more minds, more people. Because of this, they gathered those closest to the two.

Craig Manning, Ellie Nash, Jimmy Brooks, Dylan Michalchuk, Spinner Mason and Jay Hogart were sitting together uncomfortably at The Dot, each of them receiving cryptic messages to be there.

With Hazel and Marco standing at the head of the table, they set their plan in motion.


	2. SOS

**a/n:** Thanks for all the reviews, everyone! **  
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**Chapter 1: SOS**

To the outsider, the group gathered inside The Dot on this warm July evening could only be described as "tense".

There was Ellie, with her extremely anxious posture, between Jimmy and Craig. Craig unknowingly stared at her with quiet admiration, while Jimmy couldn't quite look her in the eye, still turning red whenever she addressed him.

Across from Jimmy was Jay, the recipient of glares from everyone seated at the table. Between Dylan's threats and Spinner's refusal to acknowledge his presence, it was a miracle that Hazel and Marco managed to get them all to sit together in relative peace.

But that's what they were – miracle workers.

"I wanted to thank you all for coming," Marco started formally. "I know a lot of you don't want to be here, but we knew you'd all be interested. Hazel and I have brought you here to talk about something we all have in common."

"Paige and Alex. Palex, if you will. We think they should get back together," Hazel continued, dramatically.

"And why am I here?" Jay sniped. "Hazy, if you wanted to spend time with me, you could've asked." He reached over to hold her hand, but she flinched away.

She ignored his interruption (they had worked so hard at their prepared speeches), and started again. "You all care about them and you've all seen how great they are together. I used to hate Alex, but since I've gotten to know her I've seen how much she needed someone to her be better. Craig, you used to hang out with Alex all the time. Ellie, you and Alex used to pretty much be best friends. And Jay, you really messed her up. You three know different Alex is now. Paige _fixed_ Alex. I daresay Paige made Alex cool."

"And I'm 100 percent sure that Paige needs Alex to keep her grounded," Marco continued seamlessly. "We've all seen her at her worst but this year, with Alex, Paige was pretty cool. No drama, no fights. Dylan, you told me yourself that Paige had never been happier. Jimmy, you've known her for forever, you remember how terrible she could be. Spin, you dated her and no offence, even you should know Alex treated her better then you could."

"What do you want us to do?" Dylan asked.

"We want you to help us. Talk to them, smack them around if you have to – but make it happen," Hazel answered.

"And what if we don't care?" Jay snarled, leaning his chair back on its hind legs.

Marco pulled out a binder from his bag. "Incentive – I propose a bet. Throw in twenty, you bet on the day they get back together. All you need to do is convince them to hook up again by the day you want them to. Easy money, the closest one wins. That's $140 for the winner. Only one condition – this has to be done by the end of August, when we leave. If it doesn't work out, I'll give you your money back, no harm done," Marco said.

"You expect us put money on our friends' happiness?" Ellie asked, faking disgust.

"You wouldn't? I'm in," Craig chuckled, pulling his wallet out.

"Wait, how are we going to keep track of this?" Jimmy asked, also reaching into his pocket.

"Already ahead of you, Jim. I've got a calendar," Marco said, opening the binder to reveal a calendar, envelope, and spare paper inside. "Tell me what day you want and I'll mark it down. I'll also keep the money," he said, earning a grunt from Jay. "_I_ can be trusted, unlike some people here."

"Just don't tell them what we're doing. You know them, if they know this is going on, they'll probably stay apart to spite us," Hazel said.

"Is this our business though?" Spinner asked, speaking up for the first time. "I've already lost – they probably won't speak to me. I'm sure they both hate me."

"Aww, widdle Spinner's scared of losing?" Jay mocked.

Spinner defensively crossed his arms. "Hey moron, they're not exactly showering you with love either," he spat.

"Jayson, could you not be petty for like, five minutes?" Jimmy interrupted, as he was about to retort. "And Spin, I mean this as a friend, but the sooner you get over yourself the happier we'll all be."

The two shut up, glowering at each other.

"They don't hate you, Spin," Marco answered gently, to calm him down. "You don't have to help. We just thought you'd want to."

Spinner grabbed the binder and marked down his bet, throwing a twenty on the table. "I've gotta get back to work," he mumbled, giving Jay one last dirty look.

Slowly, the rest of them gave Marco the money and placed their bets.

Project Palex had finally begun.


	3. A Little Too Perfect

**Chapter 2: A Little Too Perfect**

Marco del Rossi always considered himself a pretty stand-up guy. When he was 9, he saved up all his lunch money for a month for his mother's birthday. When he was 13, he volunteered every weekend at one of the city's soup kitchens. When he was 17, he gave up his summer holiday to do relief work in Africa.

And now, at 18, he was going to do the ultimate – he was going to help two people he cared for find love.

It was two days after they first arranged the bet, and always the optimist, he put his bet down for the earliest day. Everyone was surprised at his choice, but they were foolish to doubt him – he's _Marco del Rossi_; he can do anything.

He talked to Alex the day before, but pushed her too far to the point that she was officially not speaking to him. That was fine though, because he knew he'd soon be forgiven – as soon as she'd see how stupid _she_ was being.

Not far from the Michalchuk house, he began to formulate his plan to convince Paige to make the first move. Admittedly, his success rate for setting people up was pretty bad (Craig and Ellie was his first attempt and a failure), but he had high hopes for them. He skipped up the steps to their house and rang the doorbell. He was greeted with Paige's surprised face.

"How's my favourite soon-to-be Kingstoner doing?" he greeted brightly.

Paige crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, her mood opposite to Marco's. "Très bored. Please say your life is more interesting."

"Always," he teased, giving her a quick hug.

"If you're here to see Dylan, he's in the shower," Paige said, letting him in. She lazily collapsed onto the couch. "Or are you actually here to visit me for the first time in like a billion years?"

"A little bit of both," he answered, taking a seat beside her. "What are you up to today?"

"Nothing. I was thinking of calling Alex, maybe going to a movie. You and Dylan wanna come?"

"As in a double date?"

She rolled her eyes. "As in hang out?"

"Tempting, but I'd rather not sit through two hours of awkward blushing and accidental flirtation."

"Excuse me?" Her genuinely offended look only encouraged Marco.

"Oh, don't even _dare_ to pretend to be oblivious. It's nauseating how you two get."

"Shut up, we do not flirt…and I _never_ blush," she said, proving herself wrong as she turned red.

"Ah ha!"

"We don't! We just t-talk…and sometimes our conversations are…p-p-playful," she stuttered. "But that's _not _flirtation."

"Mmmhmm."

"And I _don't_ blush. It's just hot; it's summer!"

"_Oh!_" he mocked, nodding like he believed her. He knew it wasn't smart to annoy her, but he couldn't help it – it was too much fun.

"Can you stop responding with non-words?" She angrily threw a pillow at him, only making him laugh more.

"I just find it amazing how well you've got this act going."

She pouted, crossing her arms. "Please tell me you're not going to start your stupid song and dance about how Alex is my 'destiny' or whatever."

"I'll only stop once you realize it for yourself," he said, setting her off.

"So what, I have a _tiny_ little crush on Alex!" she started, with an unnatural edge in her voice. "It's just residual feelings – we ended so quickly, so there are a lot of unresolved issues, but it's _nothing_. We're just friends. That's all she wants, and I've accepted that. I'm _so_ over it. You and Hazel are blowing this completely out of proportion."

Marco stared at Paige for a moment, slightly shocked at first. She fidgeted under his scrutiny. "Wow, I nearly believed you."

"_Marco_," she said warningly.

"Paige, what's the problem? Just tell her already. It's not hard, and I know she feels the same way."

"Has she told you anything?" she asked, her voice suddenly filled with hope.

Marco shook his head and her face fell. She sighed and avoided his eyes. Suddenly, he felt bad.

"I'm serious, Marco. Please, just _stop_. I know you want me to be happy, but it's hard enough for me to be around her without acting the way I want to," she said seriously. She resolutely turned away from him and faced the TV, making a lot of effort to ignore him.

"I'm sorry, Paige," he offered. She stiffened, still determined to make it seem like she wasn't paying attention. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. You know I love you both."

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"And you know I'd never lie to you or lead you on, right?" He slowly put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, dejectedly. He felt like a mother, patting her head soothingly.

She sniffled and nodded. "I know," she murmured.

"So you know that you two should give it another shot. At least talk to her about it?" Marco asked, hopefully.

Fortunately for Paige, before she could answer Dylan trotted down the stairs. "Could you stop hitting on my boyfriend?" he asked playfully, interrupting the moment.

Paige stood up quickly and made a feeble excuse to leave the room without acknowledging the question.

"Hey Marco!" Dylan greeted, laughing at Paige's quick departure. Marco slapped him lightly. "Ow! What I do?" he cried, rubbing his cheek.

Marco pushed him. "I was talking to Paige, jerk."

Dylan grinned. "I know – the money's mine, sweetie," he said, giving Marco a kiss on the forehead before taking his hand and leading him out. "To the movies?"

Marco just followed; his mouth agape and speechless.

The funny thing about Marco del Rossi was that he was a stand-up guy – but he often forgot that other people weren't.


	4. Romantic Comedy

**Chapter 3: Romantic Comedy**

Craig Manning had never been happier in his life. He just finished up his first performance opening for Kid Elrick, and he was on cloud nine, still high on adrenaline. He was pushing his way through his crowded dressing room. Claps on the back, hugs and high fives came at all angles, and he did his best seem to be too overwhelmed.

While receiving a hug from Ellie, Manny territorially approached. He saw her shoot a glare at Ellie, but the look was quickly replaced by her smile, as she took him into her arms. Seeing Ellie's frown, he pulled himself away. "Umm, I just need some air," Craig lied, wanting to get away from the pending drama.

At that moment, he saw Alex similarly snake her way out of the room, her departure unnoticed by Paige, who seemed to have finally unglued herself from her side.

He placed his bet for today. He figured that with the magic of the bright lights, sexy rock music, and sweaty dancing, he'd barely have to do any work. Still, it wouldn't hurt if he nudged them in the right direction.

He found out about their relationship a few days after the premiere, at lunch. He was eating with Marco, Hazel and Paige, ignoring whatever they were talking about, when Alex approached. He heard the rumours, but ignored them – he knew too well how false they could be. They were confirmed, however, when Alex greeted Paige with a kiss. The 17 year old teenage boy in him was _very_ happy.

He followed Alex out to the back door, just in time to see her light up.

"Since when did you smoke?" he asked, her back facing him.

Without turning she answered, "Since when did you become a doctor?"

"Not judging-" he said, his hands in the air, making his place next to her, "-just curious. Hell, some A&R guy at the record company told me I should start; to make my voice 'sexier'."

"Don't, it's not good for you."

Craig chuckled, leaning against the brick wall. Alex joined him. "You were wicked tonight, by the way. I had to stop some emo chick from throwing her panties at you."

"Awesome," he grinned. "How'd you like your song?"

She laughed. "_My _song?"

"Yeah, _your_ song."

"_Sick_, was it one of the ballads?"

"_No_. I'll have you know that I don't write songs for just anyone. You're special, Miss Nunez," he said, using his rockstar charm. His smile faltered when he saw how unimpressed she was. "You seriously didn't notice? I was pretty much staring at you the entire time I sang it."

"I'm a chick in a low cut top; I thought you were trying to sneak a peak or something."

"Yeah…well…_yeah_, but not this time," he shrugged. "I guess you were distracted; not that I blame you. I would be too."

"What are you talking about?"

"Paige. Dancing. _All over you_. Very hot. You two are back together, aren't you?" he asked, acting oblivious.

"No," she grumbled.

"Are you sure?"

"I think I'd know," she snapped, making him wince.

He recovered, remembering the bet. "But you two looked together."

"Yeah, like you and Ellie?" Alex bit back, her voice rising.

"Whoa, calm down. Besides, Ellie and I are just friends."

"Same with me and Paige. Anyway, it doesn't matter. She's leaving for Banting soon."

"So? I live in Vancouver, but Manny and I are still tight. Kingston's just three hours away."

"It's complicated."

"All the good ones are," he countered.

"How profound, Dr. Phil."

"You know she still cares about you."

"Of course she does, we're friends," she said stubbornly.

"And you know she's sorry for what she did after you two broke up."

She laughed humourlessly, discarding her cigarette on the ground. "Does everyone know about that?"

"Pretty much."

"Can we not talk about this?" Alex asked, harshly. Craig felt himself shift away from her, and she must've noticed, because her expression immediately softened. "It's just not something I want to talk about," she mumbled. "She's gone in a couple weeks and I want to be happy."

They stood in awkward silence, the pulsing beat from inside the venue filling the air around them. Craig, never good with silence, broke it first.

"You honestly didn't realize the song was about you? '_She's got herself a saviour, and it's not who you think. Not the guy in backwards ball caps, but the cheerleader in pink!'_" he sang dramatically.

Craig was surprised to hear her giggle – he never knew she was capable of it. "Clever. You use a rhyming dictionary for that, Avril?"

He playfully swung his arm over her shoulders. "I know you think you're being all mean and bad ass, but I missed this. Me being nice to you, and you shooting me down. Just like last summer, before you ditched me and Ellie to hang with Paige. Good times."

"Well, Ellie's not my type and you never had a chance with me. Even if I were straight," she added, smugly, pushing his arm off her.

"Stop with the love, Lexi, you'll make Manny jealous," he said, his hand on his heart. Alex laughed.

A gust of wind blew by, causing her to shiver. "Damn weather. Is it this ass numbingly cold in Vancouver?"

"No; just really wet," he answered. "Let's go back in then?"

She nodded and turned to go back inside. "Hey, before we go, just remember what I said about you and Paige."

Alex stopped and crossed her arms.

"I know it's not my place to give advice, especially when it comes to relationships. But if distance is what you're worried about, you can work it out. And if it's something else, get over it. I know you think it's easier to solve all your problems on your own, but it's not. Trust me."

Alex looked at the ground for a moment before responding with a shrug. "Thanks, I guess."

"Don't mention it."

She stopped him as he reached for the door handle. "Hey, don't tell Paige I was smoking. She thinks I quit."

Craig grinned. "Only if you two get back together."

"Nevermind."

"Hey, it was worth a shot," he laughed, opening the door for her.

That was the easiest $140 Craig ever made, no doubt.


	5. Swallowed In The Sea

**a/n: **This is long for no other reason than the fact that I love Ellie. And I apologize in advanced for the Crellie.

**Chapter 4: Swallowed In The Sea**

Ellie Nash had never been prouder in her life.

Craig had just finished his first show opening for his idol, Kid Elrick, and everyone he knew had come out to support him. Right now they were celebrating backstage. She had lost him moments earlier – he disappeared somewhere to "get some air", but she knew it was because of Manny and her suffocating ways. She wished he would come back from wherever he was, because she was bored – standing alone, and reduced to people-watching.

From the corner of Craig's dressing room, she scanned the room. There was Spinner, Marco and Jimmy, looking star struck after meeting Kid Elrick. There was Ashley, Darcy and Manny, having what was probably a really awkward conversation. There was Paige, wandering around the room sans Alex, which was weird.

She remembered the first time she thought Alex might be into Paige. It was last summer, when she, Alex, and Craig, still hung out. The three were talking about prom; rather, Craig was talking about prom, while the two girls pretended to be interested.

"Then, Paige ripped off Manny's dress, which was _awesome_," Craig said, adding sound effects. "Two hot chicks, battling it out," he said, a faraway smile on his face.

"You've told us that story a billion times already," Ellie said impatiently.

Alex huffed. "What is it with guys and lesbian fantasies?"

"Better question, what is it with guys and _Paige and Manny_ fantasies?" Ellie countered.

Craig rolled his eyes. "They're _hot._ First, the big girl-on-girl fight in the hall, then Paige rips off her dress. _Hot_!"

"Would we _really_ call Manny hot?" Alex asked. "I mean, she barely looks human with all that makeup on," she said, making Ellie laugh.

"Please, Manny's great looking," Craig defended..

"You're just saying that because Paige's one of three girls at Degrassi who have yet to hit on you, the other two being me and Ellie," Alex countered. Ellie faced away from the two to hide her newly forming blush.

"Paige is hot, sure, but she's not _hot_ like Manny," Craig insisted.

"At least she looks like a person. And doesn't dress like a prostitute," Alex answered.

"You're telling me you think Paige is hotter than Manny?" Craig posed, like he was ready to challenge her answer.

"I'm saying that Paige is more than some chick who got into a hair pulling match with some girl. She's been through a lot, and she didn't need Manny, or anyone for that matter, causing more crap. And she doesn't deserve to be lumped in your sick wet dream," Alex bit back, looking ready to start a fight. Ellie had never seen Alex so defensive and upset since she broke up with Jay.

Craig shook his head. "Girls are weird," he mumbled, before lying back on Ellie's bed, humming along to the song playing on radio.

"I thought you hated her," Ellie said, thankful that Craig was clueless about girls and their feelings. Alex shrugged.

"I guess I've changed. Or my feelings for her have changed. Not _feelings_," she said quickly. "But she's kind of my friend now," she said, a small smile on her face.

"Ellie!" she heard someone yell, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She looked up and saw Paige pushing her way through the crowd. She nearly gasped for breath when she reached her.

"Ugh, people need to wear deodorant," Paige complained.

"Tell me about it. Being off to the side is safer."

"Whatever, loner. Do you know where Alex is? I lost her…"

"No idea."

"Damn. I hope she didn't leave," she sighed, standing next to her. She turned to her excitedly. "So you and Craig were looking _cozy_, El."

"_Not_. He's still with Manny, remember?"

"Well that's not stopping him from making the Craig-eyes at you," she giggled, annoying Ellie.

"Craig-eyes?"

"You know; his 'I'm a bipolar, guitar-playing, really sweet heartthrob, who just wants someone to love me' eyes."

Ellie shook her head and glared. Maybe she could get drunk, but drinking always reminded her of how stupid her mom used to be. She took her soda and gulped it. "Speaking of cozy, what about you and Alex?"

"Okay, is there some kind of coalition in support of getting me and Alex back together?"

Ellie's heart stopped beating for a second. "What makes you say that?" she said, not helping the edge in her voice.

"Oh, just the fact that pretty much everyone here has asked me about things with Alex. Ashley wouldn't shut up about it, J.T. asked if he could be the ring bearer at our 'wedding', and Darcy congratulated me on finding love."

Ellie exhaled, not aware that she was holding her breath. She laughed in relief. "We just care about you two," she offered.

"Yeah, no kidding."

"You _know_, people wouldn't be asking if you weren't so terrible at hiding your feelings for her."

Paige frowned. "Am I that transparent?"

"Like glass. Fortunately for you, Alex is way too caught up in her own denial to even notice."

"What are you talking about?"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Um, _hi_. She loves you."

"Um, _hi_ – stop with the sass and be serious."

"I am. I mean, she hasn't _directly_ said anything to me, but I can tell. She's like one of my best friends, remember?"

"She doesn't love me."

"You're all she talks about. She's always cancelling on _me, _her supposed friend, to hang out with you, her supposed non-girlfriend. Not to mention the way she looks at you..."

"She doesn't love me," she said again, more firmly.

"You know, for a smart girl, you're an idiot," Ellie said. Paige looked surprised, but didn't say anything. "As if it's not obvious – go for it. Why are you sitting here talking to me, the romantic train wreck, when you've got a good thing going with Alex? Use your Paige-eyes, find her, talk to her, get back together with her! Preferably before Saturday – but not today." Ellie said the last part in a mumble.

"Paige-eyes?"

"Yeah; your 'I'm a super-tense, overachieving, generally nice drama queen, who just wants someone to love me" eyes."

"It's not that simple."

"It can be."

"Do _you_ like it when people harp on you over Craig?" Paige asked. Ellie couldn't tell if she was yelling over the loud music, or if she was angry. Either way, she said nothing.

"Look, you like him – and don't lie, you do," Paige said, stopping her before she could deny it, "but his life seems to be fine and dandy without you. He's going one direction, and you have no idea if you want to follow. But that's kind of like me and Alex. I'm off to Banting, and she's trying to figure out her life, and I have no idea if I even have a place in hers or she in mine. I don't know if I should give up or keep going."

"At least you know she has feelings for you," Ellie grumbled.

"Hun, you say Alex is blind? Craig's worse. I doubt _he_ even knows how he feels. You know how stupid he can be, especially when Manny's involved."

"I guess."

Paige slouched slightly, defeated.

"Well, it looks like we're in the same boat. Hopelessly wanting something we can't have," she said. After a moments pause, she asked, "How exactly do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"You know, pretend it's nothing? I mean, we all know how much _I_ apparently suck at it," she chuckled.

Ellie shrugged. "Lots of practice. First being Marco's pseudo-girlfriend, then with Sean leaving, and now Craig," she sighed. "Depressing conversation, thanks for starting it."

"Hun, my entire life is like a Coldplay song," Paige consoled. Ellie glared, wanting to disappear.

Just then, Alex came back into the room with Craig behind her. Quickly spotting Paige, she left him as he was swarmed again by well-wishers.

"What I miss?" she asked, coming up to them.

"Where'd you two go?" Ellie asked.

"To get some air. Don't worry, I'm still a lesbian, I didn't take your boyfriend out for a quickie," Alex grunted. Paige unconsciously leaned against her but then pulled away.

"Alex, you smell all smoky." Although she had a disgusted look on her face, she put her head on Alex's shoulder anyway.

"Um, yeah, Craig. Uh, he smokes."

"No he doesn't," Ellie said, eyeing Alex suspiciously.

"Would I lie about this kind of thing?" Alex asked. Her eyes told her not to press the subject. She shrugged, knowing it wasn't smart to start an argument with her.

As the three continued to people-watch, Ellie looked over at the two, both stubbornly unaware of each other's feelings. Rather than having wistful feelings of romance, she found herself wishing that they'd get their heads out of their asses and finally be together.

So she could at least live vicariously through someone else's happiness.


	6. Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting

**a/n: **You know what I love most about Hazel? How random she is. I hope I did her justice.

**Chapter 5: Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting**

There were two things in the world that Hazel Aden loved most: her friends and shopping.

Ever since her first trip to the mall with her parents, she had known that there was no place greater than the big building with the fabulous clothes. Anytime she could share her love of shopping with someone, she'd take advantage of it. In fact, she could only think of one bad incident out of all her shopping experiences – and looking back on it, it wasn't even that terrible. The fact that she got in trouble with mall security over her fight with Alex was laughable considering what she had spent her entire summer trying to accomplish.

Today was going to be _wonderful. _ She was combining two of her most loved things for one fun filled afternoon. Not only was she going to take a shopping virgin out to all the best stores in Toronto, but she was going to do her part in making destiny realize itself.

After taking Alex shopping for Paige's goodbye present (and maybe even get her to buy some new clothes for herself), they were going to take Paige to the movies. Suddenly, Hazel would remember that she had a family party to go to – it was her grandmother's birthday, they couldn't possibly expect her to not attend that (the _perfect_ alibi). She'd have to leave them, and they'd have no choice but to see the movie together.

Alone. Again.

Romantic movie, dark theatre, thinly veiled feelings.

Can someone say brilliant?

So here she was, at Alex's grungy apartment, ready to exercise every ounce of charm she had in her to convince a sleeping Alex to spend the day with her.

She quietly opened the door to her room, sure to not make any noise, and tipped-toed over to the window. Alex, lightly snoring, was completely unaware of her presence.

"Morning!" She ruthlessly pulled open the blinds.

Alex yelled in shock, nearly falling out of her bed in surprise. She peered over her covers and Hazel smiled brightly, like it was completely normal to terrify someone into consciousness.

"For fuck's sake Hazel, what's going on?" she cried, dropping her head face-first into her pillow.

"We're going shopping!"

She mumbled that sounded a lot like, "Go away, Satan!" into her pillow.

"Usually I would be offended, but I know you think I'm great," Hazel countered, matching Alex's misery with her cheerfulness. "Now get up, we need to get Paige a going away present."

Alex lazily rolled over, squinting through the brightness at Hazel. "Why _WHY _do you keep saying 'we'?"

"Because _we_ are Paige's best friends. And _you_ said you'd buy something for her with _me_. I think it's safe to say we're kind of a 'we'."

"Jesus, who the fuck let you in?" she slurred, rubbing her eyes.

"Some burly guy – Chad, I presume?"

"The damn bastard."

"And I'm Hazel, not Jesus," she said, laughing at her own joke.

Alex glared and muttered random swears under her breath.

"Your colourful language is only making me happier to take you out," Hazel said, pulling on Alex's sheets. Alex pulled back, but she probably realized there was no point in fighting her, so she stopped.

"I hate you, Aden," Alex groaned as she sat up, her hair wild and tousled.

"I love you too, Alex," Hazel countered sweetly. "Besides, what sane teenager is still asleep on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?"

"The kind who was up all night _and _a good part of this morning watching a freakin' One Tree Hill marathon."

"I thought you hated One Tree Hill."

"It's a plague on humanity. But I had nothing better to do."

A sly grin formed on Hazel's face. "I bet."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're telling me that you sat through hours of overacting and angst out of 'boredom'?"

"People do fucked up things when there's nothing to do."

"People also do 'effed up' things for the person they love. And I know how much Paige _loves_ One Tree Hill. You were up with her all night, weren't you?" Hazel asked, excitedly.

"So?"

Hazel could barely stop herself from squealing in delight.

"Not this again," Alex said, flopping back down on her bed.

"Come on, you love her. Admit it, it'll only make things easier on you."

"No, you tragically losing a fight with a ravenous lion would make things easier on me," she said as she threw her blanket over her head.

"You don't expect me to believe you don't have feelings for Paige. I've heard this line before. It's as convincing as Paris Hilton is human," Hazel countered. "The way she stares at you when you're not looking, the way you use your _annoying_ squeaky voice just to make her laugh, the way you two act like the world's about to end when you spend a day without each other...

"Shut up."

"…the way you let her hold your hand when we watch those stupid scary movies, the way she talks about you like you're the greatest thing since competitive cheerleading, the way you get insanely jealous when someone so much as looks at her…"

"You can stop now," Alex grumbled, still covered.

"…the way you-"

"-_I get it_," she interrupted angrily. Alex poked her head out from under the covers.

"I don't think you do," Hazel said seriously. "You wouldn't need me to list these things out if you did."

"Paige is my _friend_, much like how you and I are _friends_," she said, her frustration getting the best of her.

"Gross…"

"Will you _go away_ Hazel? I'm _beat_, and I don't have the energy for shopping, much less you."

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Come on, what's the worst that can happen?"

"I could collapse in the middle of the store out of exhaustion."

"Minor, sweetie, minor."

Alex laughed in disbelief.

"Will you get up? For Paige at least?" Hazel asked, her tone bordering on pleading.

Alex shook her head, as if angry at herself, than abruptly sat up. "Fine. Seriously, I hate you." She swung her legs over her bed and walked to her closet, rummaging to find something to wear.

"And seriously, I love you. As a friend, of course."

"Like I'd ever like you like that," Alex mumbled.

"It's sad how open you are about how little taste you have. Oh, after we go shopping, do you wanna meet up with Paige, take her to a movie?" 

"Are you serious?" She stopped and faced Hazel, disbelief in her eyes. "As much as I _love_ a Hazel-filled day," she said sarcastically.

"It's my treat, okay? So I already called her. Like, ten minutes before I came."

"Because along with being pure evil," she said, turning back to her closet, "you're also psychic, so you already knew I'd say yes."

"Close, but no. It's because you _never_ turn down spending time with your _destiny_."

"You're a loser."

"Um, no sweetie. The only loser in this room is the one who was still in bed at 3:30 in the afternoon."

Alex ignored her as she continued to evaluate her clothing options.

"You own a lot of white tank tops," Hazel observed, looking from behind her shoulder.

And as she was violently being pushed out of the room, she made a mental note to pat herself on the back - $140 _and_ a new shopping partner?

Genius.


	7. Jealous Guy

**a/n: **Sorry this took so long; last minute I decided to change the direction of this one so I had to rewrite it. The next chapter should be up in a couple hours, we'll see.

Again, thanks for your reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Jealous Guy**

Jimmy Brooks was not used to begging. In fact, Jimmy could barely remember a time he had to ask for something more than once. Not counting the shooting, he was used to getting what he wanted – that's just his personality. He was incredibly persuasive.

Then this year came – he got dumped by his girlfriend, got rejected by his crush, and failed to graduate due to a technicality. He was hoping that the bet would signal a change back to the way it was, when things went his way. He missed being lucky. Not only that, but he really needed the $140 to get Ellie her new cymbal, the one he helped dent, as a peace offering.

And of course, he _did_ genuinely care about Paige and Alex.

Having known Paige since they were in elementary, he couldn't help but have the brotherly urge to protect her, much like how he felt for Marco. After her and Alex went public, he couldn't count the number of times he almost got into fights defending them. It's like for every person who was fine with it, there were ten more who judged and hated.

The amount of crass and salacious comments shocked him. He expected it to be like when Marco came out; there would always be rude comments here and there, but general acceptance. With Paige and Alex though – the former being the most popular girl, the latter being the most feared – their relationship brought out the worst in people. There was something about those two girls specifically – when Heather Sinclair hooked up with some girl from Bardell, people barely cared. Maybe it was Paige's immensely high social status. Maybe it was the fact that Alex could knock you out in a second. Whatever it was, the guys turned them into an ongoing perverted joke, while the girls gossiped about how 'slutty' they were or how 'trashy' they acted.

He had to hand it to them though; they were more resilient then he could ever be. Every insensitive remark was met by Paige's biting quick wit. Every judgemental stare was matched by Alex's threatening scowl. And when they weren't around to defend themselves, Jimmy did what he did to shut the haters up.

Right now he was trying to convince his friend Natalie to help him win. He heard about Hazel's disastrous attempt to set them up on a semi-date (apparently Alex caught on and threw a Paige-like tantrum), so he decided to be even more clever. The athlete in him made him think outside the box. Learn from your opponents, learn all their strengths and weaknesses to attain your goal. Then he realized it – what was the most powerful motivator? What could smack sense into someone, more influential than money, more foolish then love?

Jealousy. The realization that you lost what you could've had.

Money in the bank, baby.

"Come on, Natalie. _Please_?" he pleaded, using his best puppy-dog eyes.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "What if Rachel finds out you've been pseudo-setting me up with someone?" she asked, referring to her girlfriend. Natalie was an old friend of Jimmy's, a former next door neighbour. She had known Jimmy forever, and he knew that she'd do anything for him.

"Then tell her it's fake. Tell her it was my idea. People find it extremely hard to get angry at a guy in a wheelchair."

"Well, people – Rachel – find it extremely _easy_ to get angry at me."

"Please? I'll owe you big."

"What if I like her? Your 'big plan' fails."

"Very few people like Paige when they first meet her. Come on, she'll be here any minute."

"What if she likes me?"

"Very few people like you when they first meet you," Jimmy joked. Natalie glowered. "Seriously Natalie, she won't. She's way too into Alex; she won't even give you a second look."

"How sweet."

"So is that a yes?"

Natalie shook her head angrily before sighing. "Only because you're in a chair," she groaned.

"Ah, you rule! Okay, go over to the counter and I'll signal you to come over. Work your magic. Just don't go overboard. Keep it clean, okay?"

She rolled her eyes again before dragging her feet over to the stools.

Seconds later, Paige walked through the door.

"Just you and me?" she asked, giving Jimmy a hug.

"For now – Alex called and said she'd be late, Ashley, Ellie and Marco are gonna meet us there."

"Mmkay."

"What have you been up to today?" he asked. She took a seat across from him.

"Not much. Pathetic, really."

"No, not pathetic. I've been the same. Actually, I was thinking about you this morning."

"How romantic," Paige joked.

"Nah, not that way," Jimmy laughed. "Remember when we were kids and you always talked about your 'knight in shining armour'?"

Paige grinned. "Yeah – I distinctly remember saying that he'd look a lot like Jimmy Brooks. That made Ash so angry. She wouldn't speak to me for like two weeks after that."

"Look at you now though; you've found your knight – but he just turned out being a really _fine_ girl who cusses, smokes, and looks nothing like me."

Paige shook her head, still smiling. "Alex doesn't smoke."

"What, you're not getting all defensive over what I said?"

Paige shrugged. Jimmy looked over at Natalie, and motioned her to come over.

"Hey Jimmy, who's your friend?" Natalie said, smiling at Paige. Jimmy introduced the two, silently praying that Natalie wouldn't make things _too_ awkward for him.

"Hi, Natalie," Paige said, slightly confused.

"So _you're_ Paige. You know, Jimmy's told me a lot about you," she said, taking a seat next to Paige and leaning in slightly. Paige reflexively leaned backward, surprised by Natalie's forwardness, but seemed flattered by the attention.

"Really? Well…Jimmy…likes to talk…" she said awkwardly, as Natalie placed her hand on Paige's arm.

"But he failed to mention how cute you were," Natalie continued, tracing her finger up and down Paige's forearm.

"Oh, well, Jimmy's quite the character." Paige blushed slightly, but still looked uncomfortable. Jimmy grinned as she shot him a dirty look. "So, uh, how do you know Jimmy?"

"We go way back. But what about you? What's your story?"

"My story…not too interesting," she said vaguely, eyeing the exits.

"I heard you graduated from Degrassi this year," Natalie said, smiling seductively. Paige had never looked more terrified. "Jim told me that you're going over to Banting? Maybe I'll go to Kingston too, if that's where all the cute girls are headed."

"Um, hun, you're kind of in my personal space," she said, finally allowing her impatience to show. She gently, but vehemently, removed Natalie's hand.

The bells on The Dot's door chimed, and Jimmy looked up to see Alex come in. She sized Natalie up before stiffening, and cautiously walked up. Paige must've noticed Alex's behaviour too, because she soon had her mischievous smile on.

"Alex!" Paige said, acting surprised. Jimmy suppressed his laughter as Paige suddenly seemed really interested in Natalie. "This is Natalie, a friend of Jimmy's. We were just getting to know each other," she said, grinning at Natalie.

This seemed to have her desired affect, as Alex became visibly jealous. Paige took Natalie's hand and placed it back on hers, doing it slyly so Alex could see everything.

Jimmy just sat back and let them do all the work.

"So Natalie, where are you from, what do you do?" Paige asked, leaning forward. This time Natalie moved back a little.

"Um…"

"You said you might move down to Kingston? We should meet up some time…"

"Uh…"

"They're probably waiting for us, we should get going," Alex said loudly. She stared down at Natalie, as if daring her to speak.

"Aww, well, I guess we should. It was _great_ meeting you, Natalie," Paige said, giving her hand a squeeze. She could hardly hide her shock, not expecting Paige's behaviour.

Paige smiled brightly at Alex, as Alex continued to glare. "Jim, are you coming?" Alex asked, her eyes not leaving Natalie's.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna say goodbye to Nat. I'll meet you guys outside?"

They nodded, and with one final wave goodbye from Paige, they left.

"What the hell," Natalie said, exhaling deeply. "I thought that Alex chick was going to kill me."

Jimmy laughed. "That was _perfect_!" he cheered, giving Natalie a hug.

"I barely did anything," she said, still shocked. "I mean, I had my best pick up lines all set up, ready to come, then Alex came in…then she looked at me with those eyes and I thought she was going to strangle me…"

"Are you going to be okay?"

She stared at her hands for a moment before standing behind him, ready to help wheel him out.

"If those two don't work out, can you give me Alex's number?"

"I'll never understand girls," he muttered. Thank God he was a guy. At least bad luck couldn't take that away from him.


	8. Gravity

**Chapter 7: **Gravity

Maybe it was cynicism, maybe it was because he'd been foolish himself with it; but Dylan Michalchuk barely believed in love.

Don't get him wrong, he loved Marco very much, but after seeing how it tore apart so many of his friends, left him miserable for months, and made his sister act like an idiot, he really couldn't say he was a fan of it.

Marco and Hazel's 'Palex Plan' certainly wasn't easy for him. Sure, he wanted Paige to be happy – but could Alex _really_ be the one for her? That he wasn't sure about. He'd seen Paige with her other boyfriends and how she would dive head-first into their relationships without thinking, and he was sure that this was just another instance. Paige fell in and out of love easily, that was just her personality. Sure, this time it was taking her longer to fall _out_ of it, but it would happen, as it usually did.

And what about Alex – could he trust the girl who had so quickly broken her heart? Did _she_ really love her?

Dylan remembered the night Paige told him she was seeing Alex like it was yesterday. He was home on his semester break, taking full advantage of the luxury of napping away from loud roommates, when he was awoken by a soft tap on the door. She had never looked more at peace when she told him about this girl, Alex. Alex Nunez, Marco's former adversary-turned-friend, Ellie Nash's euchre partner, and suddenly, the love of his sister's life. She talked about how she had been wonderful for her, how they both brought the best out of one another. He couldn't help himself as he questioned her sincerity, but she quickly assured him that what she felt was honest.

It was almost surreal. Here was his baby sister, formerly the most boy-crazy person he ever knew, suddenly a grown woman, sharing with him her most private feelings about Alex, feelings that she probably had yet to mutter out loud, much less share with the girl she felt them for. He even momentarily thought that Alex was _the one_ for her.

The moment passed the day Paige came home crying from the mall after Alex had broken up with her.

Ever since then, he always found it hard to be around Alex, but he made the effort. Although he led Marco to believe that his only incentive for the bet was the money, he genuinely wanted to know for himself if they everybody was right and his intuition was wrong.

So here he was, at the Tim Horton's near Alex's apartment, watching her enter the coffee shop alone.

"Hey," Alex said cautiously, taking a seat.

"Hey, Alex," Dylan answered. They both sat stiffly; never before had they been alone with one another.

"So…you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah, about Paige." He figured there was no point in rambling.

"What about?"

"I want to know about your intentions," he stated plainly.

"Looks like succinctness runs in your family," she laughed, rubbing her temple.

"Seriously, Alex. Paige is my sister, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think she might still in love with you." Something about the way that Alex made jokes when he was trying to have a serious conversation made him feel confrontational. Alex was the perfect person to start an argument with.

"Why would you hate to admit that?" she asked, her eyes flashing.

"Because I'm sure you'll break her heart again."

"Excuse me?"

"You broke up with her, remember?" Dylan noted how she fiercely stared at him, but he didn't let that affect him.

"She seemed fine after, hooking up with Spinner and all."

"Are you going to keep throwing that at her?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down.

"How is this any of your business?" she asked in return.

"She's my sister."

"And what? You think that I'd intentionally hurt her or that I'm leading her or something?" Alex asked, not caring about how loud she was getting. "We're _just friends_ – she knows this, I know this, why can't anyone else get that into their heads?"

"Because you're not _just friends_. And you two never will be, not if she's still in love with you."

"What are you, a shrink!"

"No, just someone who actually cares about Paige," he replied coolly.

Alex shook her head. "Look…I'm sorry if I'm leading her on or whatever…I'm not doing it on purpose."

He finally looked her in the eye. "Apologize to Paige if you plan on being 'just friends'," he said firmly.

"Don't accuse me of not caring about her," she added quietly.

"Alex, I know you do; but you're doing a crappy job at showing it," he said, running his hand through his hair.

The sat quietly, the tension dissipating.

"When'd you realize it?" Alex asked suddenly.

It took a moment for him to understand what she was asking, before realizing it for himself. "I think I always knew," he said.

Alex nodded, looking at him expectantly for him to elaborate.

"Remember in elementary how your teacher made you write up what you wanted your life to be like 20 years from now? Most people wrote they wanted to be firefighters or singers or teachers, but everyone put that they wanted to have a husband or wife and have kids and live happily ever after. Not me; I couldn't just force myself to write 'I want to have a wife and kids and whatever,' so just wrote that I wanted to be happy and accepted for who I was. I got an incomplete for 'lack of information', but from that moment on, I was positive. I even told my mom the next day, but she kind of brushed it off, saying I was going to grow out of it, that I was too young. At least she's gotten past that delusion," he said, smiling. "She really likes you, my mom."

"Really?" Alex said, smiling back.

"Yeah; dad too. They miss having you around and stuff. She said that you appreciated her more then me and Paige did. Might be true," he said honestly, knowing of Alex's own home life. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Of course, I'm sure they don't miss walking in on you two making out all the time, but they've never actually said that out loud."

She blushed.

"How about you?" Dylan asked.

"What?"

"I shared and unfortunately for you, I'm all for reciprocity. So how'd you know?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't do the whole 'sharing-caring' thing very well."

"I promise I won't comment or judge. I'm just curious," he said softly. He held her gaze so she knew he was being sincere.

Alex shook her head. "I'll probably regret telling you." She sighed, and looked at her lap. "I think I always knew, too," she said hesitantly. Dylan leaned forward, her voice so quiet he could barely hear her. "After seeing my mom and all her stupid boyfriends, I knew I wasn't going to let some asshole treat me bad. I could never trust a guy, ever. After Jay, and spending more time with Paige, it because clearer to me, you know? Did I want to be like my mom for the rest of my life, a miserable alcoholic, with a new boyfriend every week, or did I want to be happy and myself and have a shot in life? I was pretty much going down the same road as my mom, until Paige made me realize I was worth something. She's amazing like that. So coming out, it just made sense to me," she said, like it was no big deal.

Dylan felt an epiphany come over him, and he could barely stop himself from grinning. He laughed in surprise.

"What's with the look?" she asked defensively. "You're smiling at me, you never smile at me…and it's creepy."

"I just realized it. _You love her._ I never thought you did, but _man_ I must've been blind to doubt it. I thought Marco was crazy, but he's right."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's always going on about how you two are 'meant to be', and at first I thought he was just being Marco – you know, high attention to detail, making _everything_ so angst. But he was right about you two."

"That's fantastic," she said sarcastically.

"Alex, tell her. Trust me, she wants to hear it. She deserves to hear it."

Alex cautiously looked at Dylan, as if evaluating if he was trustworthy or not. "Does she know?" she asked softly. Her indirect admittance made Dylan smile go broader.

"No; she's convinced that you've moved on. Are you going to tell her?"

"Eventually. But not now," she said, sighing as if she had just relieved a burden off her shoulder. Dylan reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"Tell her _soon_, Alex. I was lucky with Marco, but eventually, Paige'll move on for real and she may not give you another chance."

She promised she would. He got up and ordered two coffees. They talked – about everything and nothing for hours, and he quickly found himself happy that Paige found someone like Alex.

The surprise hug that Alex gave him as they said goodbye was worth more than winning any bet.


	9. Pink Triangle

**a/n:** I'm _so_ sorry this was a long time coming. I don't really have a good excuse, so feel free to throw things at my general direction. Kudos to Weezer, because it's about time someone uses their song in relation to Palex and Jay.

**Chapter 8: Pink Triangle**

Jay Hogart did not do favours.

So why was he parked outside the mall, waiting for Paige Michalchuk to come out so he could drive her home? Because he was asked to.

He felt like some stalker, lurking at the bus stop, incognito (he had been banned from this particular mall several times already). But being hopelessly whipped for Alex, here he was, drumming his fingers on his steering wheel to the Weezer song blaring from the stereo ("_I'm dumb, she's a lesbian; I thought I had found the one_", how fitting). He laughed at the thought that he was waiting for the girl who the girl of his dreams was in love with, knowing full well that if it was some other jackass doing this, he'd beat them up for having no balls.

The first day he met Alex was the summer before grade 9. There was a big crowd of kids, all of them shouting at some guy to 'kick her ass!' and to 'stand up for yourself, moron!'. He pushed his way to the front and there she was. Beautiful raven hair, vicious brown eyes, in jeans and a white tank top, beating the crap outta some guy, and swearing like a sailor. From that moment on, he was in love.

Then suddenly (well, three years later, but it was 'suddenly' to him), they were broken up, and she was a lesbian. But hey, shit happens. Sure, he hated himself for fucking it up with her, but that what happened with Amy and Emma and all the other ravine girls was unavoidable. He knew they never had any chance in hell at getting back together, but that didn't mean he couldn't still hang out with her and be part of some stupid bet where he'd hook her up with the chick he hated. Okay, so the bet wasn't completely stupid. As soon as Hazel and Marco finished their long-ass speech about how they were 'destined', he knew he'd do what he could to help them. For what reason? Well, he didn't quite know. I mean, the money would be nice, but it'd be hard for him to take it. If he won and spent it, Alex would think that he stole it – and she'd kill him if he explained how he got it.

Maybe it was 'cause he liked beating other people. Maybe he knew it'd piss Spinner off for him to be so involved with people he cared about. Whatever the reason was, he was doing his part to get them back together, which meant he spent the last month enduring millions of painful girl talks with Alex.

Finally Paige appeared, walking to the bus stop from the mall's entrance. Eyeing him suspiciously with several bags in her hands, she stood in front of the bus sign, choosing to ignore him.

"Need a ride?" he asked from inside, as thunder cracked from far away.

"Not from you, thanks." It started to drizzle.

"Seriously?"

"The bus will be here soon." She looked up at the sky with apprehension.

"In like, twenty minutes. You don't even have an umbrella," he pointed out. He didn't want to put up with her attitude (and he was being pretty damn nice for once, offering her ride!), but if he didn't follow through with his promise to Alex, she would find out and she would kill him.

"I like the rain," she said stubbornly.

"I promise I won't bite," he offered with a grin.

"Or give me an STD?" she added, giving him her famous death stare, only leading him to smile broader.

"Cross my heart."

She rolled her eyes and took a step forward, the rain starting to come down a little harsher. She looked around to make sure no one else was looking before she got in. "Thanks."

"No problem. So you're going home?" He pulled away from the curb and began driving, not really paying attention to the road, but he never really did.

"Alex's. I'm assuming you know where she lives."

"Think it's smart to be going down to that neighbourhood so late?"

"Don't you live like, a block away?"

"Yeah, but I'm the one that makes it so unsafe."

"Well if I get attacked, I'll be sure to let the cops know."

"Sweet. So you're staying with Alex for the night or what?"

"Yeah." She glowered, daring him to make a salacious comment. Which he did, of course.

"How's my favourite girl-on-girl couple doing, anyway?"

"I'd take that as a compliment if you weren't such a pervert. Marco and Ellie will be there too. And we're not together."

"Oh, but in my head you are. Everyday. Any time I want. Sometimes there's mud involved." Seeing her so pissed made him strangely happy.

"You can drop me off here now, thanks." They had barely left the parking lot.

"Fine, I'll stop."

"How thoughtful."

He continued to drive in silence, and he was almost able to ignore Paige's irritated sighs before he broke and tried to start a conversation with her again.

"So I hung out with Lexi today," he started, making an effort to talk without sounding like a pervert.

"Hm."

"Yeah, she asked if I could pick you up when she heard it was gonna rain. So don't think I lurk around randomly picking up chicks. She'd come, but she wanted to get something at The Dot or whatever. She knew you'd be at the mall."

This actually got Paige's interest. "How?"

"Hazy told her or something."

"Of course she did."

"Was it a secret?"

She shrugged. "If I told Hazel, even if it was, I should've known it wouldn't be."

"But you're always at the mall. Hazel or not, she probably would've known."

"I guess," she answered slowly. She seemed shocked that she was having a semi-civil conversation with him.

"What were you doing there alone anyway? I thought girls like you made shopping a group activity."

She sighed again, making Jay's skin crawl. "If you _must _know, I was getting something for Alex. A goodbye present, I guess."

He almost made a snide remark, but decided against it. "What did you get her?"

"Nothing special – a CD, and a picture of all of us at prom."

"Romantic."

"Why are you such a jerk?"

"Why are you so sensitive? God, I'm giving you a ride, what more do you want from me?"

His radio still blared, but Paige switched the station so it played some crap R&B dance song that made his skin crawl. He turned it off, immediately regretting the decision. At least the music created a sort of distraction. He jealously watched the people outside, soaking wet from the sudden deluge. He couldn't believe he said yes to driving her. Why did Alex have to live so goddamn far?

"What did you and Lexi do today?" she asked, filling the silence. Apparently it was killing her too.

"Nothing really. She seemed pretty bummed, so we just watched TV. She didn't actually tell me she was but I could tell, 'cause the entire time she didn't once threaten to castrate me. But she did mention you were leaving."

"Oh. Yeah, this Sunday."

"Only two more days. Excited?"

"Not really, but I'm sure I will be when I get there. Did Alex say anything else about me?" she asked, casually.

"The usual, 'I hate Paige', 'I can't wait to get a new hotter girlfriend', shit like that." He smiled as she glared.

"Funny."

Again, silence filled the car. Paige reached for the radio again, but Jay stopped her. He'd rather die than listen to the crap Paige liked. "Don't."

"So," she started, disgustedly wiping where Jay touched her hand against her leg, "Alex told me that you two are hanging out more. With Sean?" She sighed. Alex told him about this – how Paige would sigh uncontrollably when she was uncomfortable. If she hadn't warned him, he wouldn't thought she had some sort of breathing problem. It bugged the hell outta him, but Alex thought it was cute. He could barely see how anyone could compare Paige's annoying habits to anything relatively cute, but hey, Alex was blind and stupidly in love. Her judgement was obviously messed up.

He looked over at her and raised his eyebrow. "Can't you accept a car ride in silence? Or is this an interview session or something?"

"Shut up." Suddenly her tone changed to excitement. "I saw him the other day. He got really hot; I'm loving his hair."

The fact that she was gossiping with Jay like he was one of her girlfriends made him up-heave a little. "You think he's hot?"

Paige just rolled her eyes. "Despite your disgusting fantasies, I'm not a lesbian. I can find boys attractve."

"I'm just saying – _Sean_? I mean, I _guess_ if I were a girl he'd be _maybe_ a _tiny_ bit good looking, but what about me? I'm damn sexy."

"I have no idea how Alex can stand to be around you so much," she said, laughing a little.

He smiled, but genuinely this time, which was strange for him. "I don't either. But it's possibly because I _am_ damn sexy."

"Whatever." Whoa, she was smiling back at him. This was weird. It was almost like they were friends.

"Anyway, yeah, Sean's back. Still wants Ellie or Emma or whatever. They're all the same to me."

"And what, you're helping him get them back?"

"Nah, I'm pretty much just using him 'cause he fixes my car for free. And Alex likes hanging out with him 'cause she says he's the only guy who doesn't think he can de-lesbian her or whatever."

"It'll be just like grade 10 all over again for you three," she said unenthusiastically. He could see why it would bother her, since she and Alex were pretty much sworn enemies back then.

"Scared we'll be bad influences?"

"Alex can think for herself."

"But I'm mighty persuasive."

"So 'mighty persuasive' that you helped turn Alex off to men?" she bit back. Surprisingly, that hurt a little.

"Feisty," he smirked, hiding it. "And don't worry, I'll do my best to keep her out of trouble."

"She can do what she wants."

"But you wish what she wanted to do was you." He stifled his laugh as she began to blush.

"Do you have to make _everything_ so perverted, Jay?"

"You know what I mean," he said. "You're leaving in a couple days, and when are you coming back? Christmas? You really don't have anything to lose if you tell Alex how you feel…"

"How do you know that I feel _anything_ for her?"

"Because you do. As the guy who knows pretty much everything about being pathetically in love with her, I should know. And since I'm that guy and all, I know when she's in love. And she's definitely not swooning after Sean or me."

Paige was silent for a moment. It almost seemed like she was going to be nice to him, until- "I can't believe you think I'll confide in you." She laughed incredulously. That hurt a little, too.

"I'm not a terrible person y'know," he mumbled.

"_Really_?"

"_Really. _I know sincerity isn't really my forte, but you have to believe me on this."

She flashed a patronizing smile at him, ready to challenge him. "So let's say you're right – Alex's loves me," she laughed, stopping to compose herself, "then why hasn't she told me?"

"Because she's proud, because she's stupid, because you're leaving. Because she's waiting for the right time, which in her mind probably won't ever come, or until you're like 40 and with kids and she's desperate and alone and living with cats. I don't know. You know Alex, she doesn't do the whole heart-to-heart thing very well."

Jay took his eyes off the road and looked over at Paige. She was biting her bottom lip, looking unsure as to what to say next. He decided to push his luck a little more. "You know as well as I do that Alex _always_ puts up a front when she's scared about something. She covers up all the crap she has to deal with by acting tough and shit. This is the same thing."

"If she _really_ loved me, then she'd tell me already," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. It was like she was testing Jay, hoping what he was saying was true.

"That's bull. Why is it her job? If things were so perfect then we'd be flying over to Alex's house on a magic carpet, smoking a joint, and the two of you would be into me instead. Then we'd all make out," he said, his words crass, but his voice gentle. "Maybe a little mud would be involved," he added as an afterthought.

"What does that have to do with what we were talking about?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say it out loud." He turned the car onto Alex's street. "Look, I know you don't like me but listen anyway. If you want Alex back, then _you_ should do something about it. Now sooner then later 'cause eventually, she'll move on. She's really hot, I bet there are tons of chicks who want to get with her.

"I screwed things up with Alex. And sure, it was probably inevitable that we wouldn't work out considering I have a penis and all, but the fact that I had her and threw it away _sucks_ for me. I've gotta live with that. But you have every chance to not be as pathetic as me and you're throwing that away? I didn't think Paige Michalchuk would ever settle then less then what she wanted." He pulled up to Alex's apartment, parking on the curb, surprised when she didn't jump out of the car as fast as she could.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, not meeting his gaze.

For the first time in a while, he didn't feel the need to be rude or sarcastic. Looking at Paige and seeing her vulnerable, shook him a little – and it made him see why he had agreed to help Marco and Hazel.

"Well, I guess even more than I want her back, I want her to be happy," he answered honestly. "And you make her happy."

"Thanks," she said, finally looking at him. She looked content. At peace. Maybe tonight was the night. Maybe he won? "And thanks for the ride." She reached for the door handle before Jay stopped her.

"Umbrella," he said, grabbing one from his backseat.

She smiled as she took it. "Jay?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"I _do_ think you're hotter then Sean," she said, before giving him a hug. "See you around." With a grin, she was out the door.

Jay Hogart didn't do favours.

So why did he feel really good about doing this one?


	10. Crystal Ball

**a/n: **Again, you can all beat me up for how long I took to get this up. And I apologize for it, because it was quickly beta'd so I'm sure there are even more grammatical errors than usual. On the plus side, it's pretty long. On the minus side, it's pretty long. Enjoy!

Oh there's one or two chapters left in this thing, so I'd like to thank everyone for sticking with it! I'll try to have the next chapter up in a few days.

**Chapter 9: **Crystal Ball

Rain poured outside as Spinner Mason lay on the counter at The Dot, bored out of his mind.

He was working alone, but it didn't matter since there was no one in the restaurant anyway. Although it was Friday night, it seemed like everyone had wisely taken cover for the storm in their own homes. He even got the call from his manager to close shop early since he had only had one customer the entire night.

He picked up his cell phone and sat up, reflexively dialling Darcy's number, but stopped himself as the thunder outside shook the walls.

Darcy. The 'one', the girl who he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with. Of course, he had thought that about all his girlfriends, but that wasn't the point. Darcy was different. While Manny was unpredictable and Paige was familiar, Darcy was _comfortable. _

He was afraid though. The past year he needed this comfort but now summer was coming to an end and all his broken bonds had been mended. He hated to admit it, but maybe he didn't need her. When she got off the bus and greeted him, he expected to be nervous, to feel butterflies, to feel _love_ when he would finally see her face. Instead he almost felt indifferent. It had been good to see her, but he didn't feel the same desire he had once had.

As strange as it was, Paige and Alex had become his model for the kind of relationship he was looking for. _No_, he wasn't gay, but they had something unconditional, without any logic, but regardless, made sense. He was happy for them. He didn't think it was possible, especially since his one night stand with Paige sparked a fleeting moment of hormone-based feelings. They had everything he wished he had, aside from the part that they had stupidly broken up.

Marco and Hazel's plan was the perfect way to get them back together, and he did his best to make it happen. He tried to be the mastermind behind it, when in actuality, the things he did to help the others wasn't working out in his favour.

He gave Marco the idea to visit Alex the night after the bet was made (and apparently Marco pushed her far enough that she didn't talk to him for a week). He stole Paige away from Alex after Craig's show, allowing Alex and Craig to talk outside (but surprise surprise, neither Paige nor Alex had even noticed Craig's song). On the same night he distracted Jimmy and Marco from finding Ellie, leading Paige and her to have their heart to heart (a conversation that Ellie described as being as painful as a Kwan exam). He helped Hazel foot the bill to her Palex movie date (a date that ended as soon as it began), he gave Jimmy the idea to call Natalie when he was having trouble with coming up with ideas (unfortunately he didn't see that Natalie loved the ladies _just as much_ as he did), and when Dylan was having an ethical crisis with the bet, he suggested he get to know Alex before judging it. With what happened to Dylan and Alex, Spinner _could_ chalk it up as a victory, but it happened a few days ago and there was still no sign of any hook-up.

Hell, the only person he didn't help was Jay (but that's because Jay was an idiot who deserved to lose $20).

Jay had a habit of ruining every life he touched. Ask any girl down at the ravine, any dealer within a ten mile radius, anyone. Jay was no good, and if there was anyone who had suffered more than he, it was Alex.

For Spinner, before Darcy, before Manny, before Paige, and even before Terri, there was Alex. His first official crush, at the tender age of thirteen. She was a different Alex back then, of course. Pre-Jay Hogart she was quiet and kept to her self, but still brutal.

He remembered the first time he saw her. She was sitting alone on the bottom steps of Degrassi, on his first day of grade eight. She was easily the prettiest girl he had ever seen in real life (you know, his locker babes were way too hot to ignore). Her long brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, her mouth set in a thin line. Her jeans were scuffed up, and her black shirt looked like it had undergone a few too many washes. In a sea of polished kids, all wearing their new school clothes, she probably looked drab. But Spinner saw something more. With her dark brown eyes focused on the ground, she looked like she desperately wanted to be anonymous, invisible almost. She was a girl who had grown up too fast, a girl with too many odds against her.

And although she looked like she wanted to be left alone, being rational thirteen year old boy that he was, he decided to talk to her. He was Gavin 'Spinner' Mason, second most popular boy in grade eight (Jimmy Brooks being most, obviously). It was his _duty_ to introduce himself to the pretty new girl.

He barely sat down before she said, "That seat's taken."

He shook his head awkwardly, surprised by the fact that she had even _noticed_ him. "W-what?"

"The seat _is taken_." She crossed her arms, her eyes leaving the ground but focusing everywhere but him.

"It's not even a seat."

"So?"

"What's your name?" he asked, stubbornly sitting anyway.

"Alex." She finally met his stare, and it nearly winded him. From far away, she was pretty. This close, she was _beautiful_.

"Um, nice. Uh, Alex…that's a pretty name. I'm Ga-erm, Spinner," he said, coughing at bit. He was testing out a new nickname, and if he wanted it to catch on, he might as well start with the new kids. "I'm Spinner," he said clearer.

"Your parents must really hate you," she said as the first bell rang.

Spinner, confused, scratched his head as she rolled her eyes at his cluelessness. From a distance he heard Paige Michalchuk, who seemed to have been watching Spinner's feeble attempt at flirting. Spinner gulped as she sauntered over, living up to the word 'hottie' that appeared across her shirt.

"Welcome to Degrassi, I'm Paige," she said, sticking out her hand for Alex to shake. Which she didn't, of course. Paige detracted her hand, unimpressed.

"You'll have to forgive Spinner," she tried again, her smile faltering slightly. "My friend Terri's deluded him into thinking he's hotter than he actually is."

Alex looked Paige up and down, and Spinner gulped once more, afraid of how she was going to respond. "What's your excuse?" she said, motioning to her top.

Paige huffed, her hands on her hips. Spinner could actually feel anger radiate off her. "And here _I _was, bothering myself with some _freak_ new kid who's wearing second hand clothes. Come on Spinner, let's go."

Paige made Spinner vow with her to never speak to her again as they entered the school.

Of course, they both had broken that vow, Spinner becoming semi-friends with her when he was friends with Jay, and Paige…well, that went without saying.

If his 13 year old self had known that their first encounter would prelude into something romantic, his brain probably would've exploded from the mere thought of it.

But now, he could see it. They'd grown up to become perfect for each other. Paige wasn't nearly as high maintenance and she seemed to have found a conscious along the way. Alex still had her walls up, but she slowly allowed Paige to get past it.

He didn't usually like thinking about that day; he couldn't help but blush at the memory of the first time he was ever shot down by a girl. But she never mentioned it; he doubted she even remembered.

The wind chimes clanged as the door to The Dot opened.

Speak of the devil…

"Hey Mason," Alex said breathlessly, her hair soaking. Even though he didn't like her _that way_, he had to admit that even without makeup and dripping from the rain, Alex was one of the hottest girls he had ever seen…in _life._

"You didn't swim here, did you?" he joked, knowing full well that Alex had no sense of humour when it came to him.

"Ha-ha," she laughed humourlessly. "Gimme a coffee to go. Oh, and you got one of those chocolate cheesecakes?"

"Yeah; a slice? I've got a whole one in the back freezer if you want."

"Um, whole thing, I guess." She took a seat at the bar then shook her head, attempting to dry herself.

"Want a towel?" he asked, laughing at her. She glared, and mumbled something like, "get my stuff, asshole." Being a man who aims to please, he did as he was told.

Spinner quickly got the cake from the back and brought it up to the front. Thankful that he hadn't already dumped the pot of coffee, he poured her a cup. "One cream and six sugars, right?"

"It's creepy how you remember that," she said, accepting the cup as Spinner bagged the cake.

"Well you're the only person who orders a drop of coffee with their sugar."

"How much?" she asked impatiently. Spinner didn't want to cause any more conflict with her and rang up the till.

"$11.50."

"Thanks," she said, throwing her money down on the table. "See you around."

She quickly made her way to the door. As her hand reached the handle, thunder boomed loudly, causing her to jump. Spinner did his best to keep from laughing.

"Scared?"

"Shut up. It just surprised me," she defended feebily.

"Mmhmm."

She pushed the door open then quickly closed it again. The water was coming down harder than before. "Okay, I guess I'll wait," she mumbled.

"Did you bus here?" he asked, watching her from behind the counter.

"No, I rode a squirrel." She unenthusiastically took a seat on the stool.

"I'm closing in a couple minutes," he said, ignoring her sarcasm. "I could give you a ride home or something?"

"Umm. Sure. This doesn't mean we're friends though."

Spinner smirked and started wiping down the counters. "I guess that means 'thank you'?"

"I guess." She gave him an awkward half-smile that didn't reach her eyes as she crossed her arms over the counter. He fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers, looking out the window. The storm was slowly starting to calm down, at least.

"So, an entire cake all for yourself," he said, trying to make conversation.

"Well I'm a growing young lady."

"Usually people wanna grow _vertically,_ not horizontally."

"Whoa, know difference between the two?"

"_And_ I can tell left from right!" he cheered. Alex laughed, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Paige likes chocolate cheesecake, doesn't she?" he asked. He went to sit on the stool beside her and mimicked her position, leaning against the counter.

"Do you have a diary somewhere that has everyone in Degrassi's food preferences?" she snapped.

Spinner didn't like where this was going, but he wasn't exactly going to let her off easy. "Party?"

"Not really."

"One Tree Hill marathon?"

"God no."

"Help me out here…" he said, motioning with his hand for her to continue.

"She's leaving for Banting on Sunday, and Marco and Hazel and her are coming over to my fleapit apartment to 'celebrate.'" She said the last part with air quotes then let out a poorly suppressed sigh.

"Hmm." He faced her, and she tensed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"_What_?"

"Just….nothing." He knew he was pushing her buttons so he tread carefully. "You just don't seem very excited for her…"

"I'm _extremely_ happy for her," she exasperated. "Why wouldn't I be? She's my friend. Banting is her dream. She deserves it."

"And _your_ dream is her."

Alex rolled her eyes. "I don't know what my dream is, Oprah."

"Do you love her?"

Instead of answering, she showed him a crude gesture with her arm and fist.

"_Do you love her_?" he asked again.

"Do _you_ love her?" she repeated playfully.

"Nice Alex, JT give you pointers on how to be funny?"

She glared and shook her head.

"Look, screw your stupid ride, I better go if I wanna catch the next bus." Her feet barely touched the ground as thunder froze her in her spot. Spinner noticed her shiver as she reluctantly sat back down. "Damnit."

"You okay?"

"…I don't like storms," she admitted.

"Why'd you come out then?"

She opened her mouth and quickly closed it, repeating this a few times before turning red. "Paige likes chocolate cheesecake," she mumbled.

"Though so," he grinned. "She tends to do that to people; get them whipped and all. And damn, you two aren't even dating. Who are you, Hazel?"

"Shut up."

"Your comebacks are definitely Hazel-ish."

"Why are you such a moron?" she asked, not even bothering to hide her fright when lightning flashed.

"You're the moron. You love Paige and you're sitting here, alone with her ex-boyfriend, scared shitless over a little rain, _and_ she's leaving."

"It's not 'a little' rain." Before Spinner had the chance to react, she stopped him. "Spinner, I know about the bet."

His heart skipped a few beats as he went into a little panic. "What?"

"Marco and Hazel's 'Palex Plan' – yeah, I found it a couple days ago when I was helping the guy pack. You'd think he'd hide it in a better place. His sock drawer – _smart_."

Spinner sighed. This was definitely _not_ good. "Does Paige know?"

"No. I dunno if I'll tell her. I think it's kind of sweet, how much all of you guys care. Even Jay. Of course, you're all trying to get a shitload of money out of it, so you guys could just be really selfish and clever about it. Makes sense, though. I could write a book with all the inspirational speeches everyone's been giving," she laughed. She faced Spinner and placed her hand on his arm. "But the thing is, your day already past. A while ago. So why are we having this conversation?"

He shrugged. "I want my friends to be happy."

"Come on, I wouldn't exactly call what we have a friendship." She let go.

He shrugged, slightly hurt by what she just said but shrugging it off. "You know, when you two would come in here on your dates or whatever, I'd watch you."

"Creepy, am I gonna like this story?" Alex said, smiling a little. Spinner smiled back, thankful that she trying to lessen the tension.

"I just…I dunno, it was hard not to. Not because you're both girls," he said, hands up in the air, "although some guys did watch you 'cause of that. But I dunno. I noticed you two 'cause of way you looked at each other. Sometimes it made me jealous…not that I have feelings for Paige – or you for that matter – just…You were happy. And it didn't matter if you were both girls or that everywhere you went people would talk. It just seemed like you didn't care. You had everything I wish I had with Darcy."

"And then I had to go and fuck it up," she laughed sadly.

"You didn't fuck it up. She still loves you."

"So I've heard. From you. From Marco, from Dylan, from Hazel, from some random nine year old who lives in my building…"

"It's true. Trust me, I've basically known her since birth."

"Why does everyone think the answer to all my problems is Paige?" Alex asked, giving a frustrated sigh. She rested her head in her arms against the counter.

"We don't. But we know she can help."

"I know she can," she said. "But I wish she couldn't."

"_Let her_."

"I don't deserve her," she said, her voice muffled into her arms.

"What?"

"Don't make me say it again; it's not exactly something I'm happy about."

"Jay really fucked you up if you believe that."

"It's not Jay. It's me. My shit life. Paige deserves someone who can take care of her, buy her a big house, have 2.1 children with and golden retriever. And me? Fucked up, poor, broken home, petty thief, pot head, alcoholic mother, father who I haven't seen since I was four, want me to carry on?"

"How about stupid, blind, gutless, afraid of getting what she _truly_ deserves. Want _me_ to carry on? You and her were meant to be, and this is coming from a _friend,_ not some perverted rock star, or some jaded ex-boyfriend, or some friend who's obsessed with playing cupid. I don't want the bet money, and I've obviously already lost, but I don't care 'cause you two should be together already."

"Aren't you supposed to be telling me not to go for it? She told me that you wanted to get back with her after…yeah."

He shrugged. "I'm not in love with Paige. And what happened was…stupid. Extremely stupid."

"You're just saying that 'cause you were shit in bed, _that's_ probably why she didn't want to get back with you," she teased.

"Well _you'll_ never find out," Spinner answered, equally playfully. "Promise me you'll tell her how you feel before she leaves. 'Cause Marco and Hazel will both explode if you two don't hook up again. Not to mention all the pissed people who lost $20."

She shook her head and sighed. "Whatever." Her blush and slight smile told Spinner that she would.

Spinner lightly put his arm around her. "Good. Because as much as you don't want me to, I like you. And I like Paige. And I like it when two people I like are happy," he smiled.

She smiled back then looked out the window. "Yay. The world didn't end," she said quietly.

Spinner followed her eyes and saw the rain had become a drizzle. He picked up her bags for her. "Let's get outta here?" he said.

"Yeah. Um, thanks for…the talk. I guess."

"No problem." He handed his umbrella to her. "We should hang out again some time," he suggested, pushing the door open for her.

"You wish, Mason."


	11. For All We Know

**a/n:** I've tried desperately to avoid writing this chapter, considering I don't think I do Palex any justice (but I sure can write about their friends! Tee-hee!). I even almost cut it out completely, but alas, my muse kept me up late (early?) to churn out this clunker. Good news is, since I'm writing a Paige chapter, I gotta write an Alex one too. So one more chapter and one epilogue to go!

I'd like to say that everyone's been _amazing _and it's been really surprising. I wish I could respond to everyone's reviews, but they'd all pretty much just say this: "OO-BAH? –shocked face–" So thank you. I hope you're not disappointed.

**Chapter 10: For All We Know**

Paige Michalchuk was on a mission: to surprise her girlfriend.

It was a strangely warm September afternoon and she was home. She couldn't help but walk with an extra bounce in her step. She was originally too broke to come home this weekend, but thanks to Jay Hogart and his sudden burst of generosity, he offered to foot her gas bill. While she intended to spend her weekend catching up on class readings (she was already procrastinating – college parties were far too distracting), she decided that there were other things – other people – far more important then Edward L. Bernays' "innovative public relations tools and how he has influenced marketing today."

As tempting as being cooped up in a dorm room might seem, surprising her girlfriend – and it made her feel _so good_ to be calling her that – would be far more exciting.

They talked online and on the phone several times a day, but Paige was still beginning to suffer through Alex withdrawals. Sure, speaking to her helped fill the void, but she missed seeing her beyond the 4x6 on her nightstand. She had to be near her. Feeling her skin under her fingers. Tasting her lips under hers. Seeing her at peace first thing in the morning while she slept.

Skipping down the hallway of Alex's now-familiar floor, she sighed, remembering the last time she was there.

Maybe it was destiny that the freak storm happened the day of her mini-farewell party, but as Paige walked down the familiar hallway to Alex's apartment, one thing was certain: she would never forget that day.

She realized it that night as she reached her door, knocking several times with various levels of loudness until realizing no one was inside. She grumbled, setting down her bags – _some party_. After determining that the floor beside Alex's door was clean enough, she sat. The three of them were _so _going to regret showing up late. Where the hell were they?

She opened her duffle bag and flipped open her cell. Three missed calls. Hazel's voice pierced through the phone. "_Oh my god, Paige, you have to see this – I think the rain just killed my neighbour's cat. I gotta go, I don't think I'll make it to Alex's. I'll see you tomorrow!"_ Marco sounded confused. _"Um, Paige? It's me…I thought I was going to meet you at your place? Anyway, I'm here, and the rain's coming down pretty hard…and Dylan said if you don't call me before 8:30 _(Paige looked at her watch – 8:37, damnit) _he won't let me leave his sight. Call me ASAP!" _Alex's message was left two minutes earlier, and Paige's stomach filled with dread that she wouldn't be able to come either. _"Hey, I'm running late. If you're at my place, just hang tight. Spinner drives like a sedated old woman."_

Of course she'd come, she thought, sighing happily. She lived here for God's sake.

Wait, why was Alex with Spinner?

When Alex arrived a few minutes later, she was armed with a bag of what smelled like Chinese food and something from The Dot. "Sorry, I would've been here sooner but I made Spinner stop for sustenance," she said, lifting up the food. "Where's Mazel?"

"_Mazel?_ God I'm glad our names sound cute when they're combined," Paige said, giving Alex a quick hug despite all the baggage they were juggling. When they pulled away Paige made no effort to hide her blush, and she noted that Alex seemed to try to prolong their contact.

"Right, um," she fumbled, the pounding against her ribs replacing her ability to think coherently. "They called. Can't make it."

Alex rolled her eyes. "I bet." Alex handed her the keys as she picked up the rest of Paige's bags on the ground.

Inside, after two separate phone calls from their seemingly apologetic friends, Paige finally said (part of) what had been on her mind for so long.

"Ever wonder what's going on with everyone?"

"Hmm?" Alex asked, still working on her plate of chow mein and spring rolls.

"Well," she started, hesitantly, "Everyone's been really…supportive lately."

Alex looked up curiously. "Supportive?"

"Yeah. They've been talking to me about…_stuff_."

"What kind of stuff?" The glint in Alex's eyes told Paige she knew exactly what kind of stuff, which made her slightly light-headed.

"You know…life stuff…romance stuff. _Us_-stuff," she said, blushing.

"Us-stuff," Alex repeated. "What do you mean by _that_?" she joked, arching her eyebrows.

"Shut up," Paige laughed, eating some food off Alex's plate.

"And you wonder why they talk about '_Us-stuff'_," Alex mocked, pulling her plate away.

Paige pouted. "But I want more."

"How about you get your own, you barely had any to begin with."

"I'm not _that_ hungry for more."

"_Fine,_" Alex scowled, pushing her plate towards Paige, and sliding her chair closer.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think it's safe to say that everyone wants us to get back together," Alex said, as Paige took the last forkful of rice.

"Hah," she laughed, picking up the empty dishes and putting them into the sink. "No kidding."

"What do you think about that?" Alex dropped casually. She sat on arm of the couch, grinning evilly.

"I think," she sighed and crossed her arms, "that, um…," _God,_ Alex looked _hot _with that damn smug smirk on her face, "I think…I think it's time for dessert!"

Alex rolled her eyes and shook her head, Paige fully aware that she had _barely_ held it together just now. She didn't know why she did in the first place. I mean, tonight was _the night_, wasn't it?

You see, after the ride with Jay, she decided that this was_ the night_. Well, maybe 'the night_'_ was the wrong term for it (considering that _the_ 'the night' had happened ages ago). Tonight, she had decided, she'd finally let go of all her issues. That was easier said than done however. She had everything she felt for her bottled up inside, sitting on a spring on the back of her throat, ready to shoot out. Watching Alex pull out the bag from The Dot, she knew that despite everyone's reassurances, she could never be positive about her feelings. They could all be wrong. All signs could be pointing to 'yes', but she could never be too sure with Alex…

"Dessert, yay," Alex said unenthusiastically, still put off by Paige's question dodging. Paige's attention turned to the contents of the bag. She gasped.

"Alex…you got me chocolate cheesecake? From The Dot? You went all the way there in this weather?" she exclaimed, waving her arm around in shock.

"Well the weather in here's pretty chill," Alex joked. The look on her face told Paige not to make a big deal out of it, but she ignored it.

"You did that for me?" Paige was touched.

She shrugged her response. "No big deal. Eat up," she said, cutting a slice. Paige stopped her, placing a hand over hers.

"_Lexi…_" she began, but was quickly interrupted.

"Paige, it's no big deal. Drop it okay?"

Paige huffed, deciding to ignore Alex if she was going to _be like that_. She grabbed the slice from her, bringing the plate with her to the couch. Mmm, she thought. At least the yumminess of the cake was easing the tension.

Alex brought her slice over to the couch too, sitting beside her, but leaving a sizable gap between them. Paige rolled her eyes, scooting over slightly.

They ate in silence, both pretending to be interested in what was on TV.

"Thanks, Lexi," she started softly, as she finished her piece. "And regardless of how small a deal it was, it was really sweet of you…" She gently placed her hand on her knee, thankful when Alex didn't pull away or deck her.

"You're welcome," Alex said, slowly placing her hand over hers. Paige looked at it for a moment before smiling at her. She quickly withdrew her hand. "Sorry," she said, sheepishly.

"_No big deal_," Paige mocked, grinning. "Movie?"

"Sure." Alex hopped up off the couch, grabbing a few DVDs off the TV stand. Paige too got up, going over to Alex's room as Alex watched her curiously. She came back with a pillow and blanket. 

"This _is_ a sleepover!" she rationalized, seeing Alex's confused look. She hit the lights and dropped herself onto the couch beside her, throwing the blanket over her too. She found herself unconsciously snuggling into her.

Needless to say, Paige didn't pay any attention to the movie. Her entire focus was on Alex, and by the looks of it, Alex wasn't interested in it either. She took advantage of the dim glow coming from the TV to look her over. Impossibly straight posture, nervous coughs, eyes set on the television. Paige would've thought that Alex hadn't even noticed Paige's gaze, but she could swear that she sensed her heartbeat speed up. She seemed to have been struggling with some inner turmoil, but her eyes were unreadable as to what exactly. Paige was just about to say something, when suddenly Alex picked up the remote and stopped the movie. 

"What-"

"-I can't do this anymore," Alex said, staring intently into her eyes, searching for approval. The only light was coming from the blue glow of the TV. "I've been an idiot," she said, laughing sardonically. "And I hope I haven't fucked up my chances."

"Lexi-"

"-Don't. I'm a shit head. I should be happy for you, 'cause you're basically my best friend, and you're off to go live out your dream, and be happy. And I _am _proud of you, 'cause you're so damn smart, and so beautiful and so fucking perfect, but how can I be happy for you when you'll go to Kingston and find some guy who's just as smart as you, who's got money and a future, and a damn golden retriever-"

"-Lexi, what are you talking about?" Paige stared at Alex, blind sighted by what Alex had just said.

Alex shook her head sadly, as if anticipating the worst. "You'll probably forget about me and my shit-ass excuse of a life. But still, right now more then anything, all I want to do is kiss you but I can't 'cause it'll ruin your plans, and fuck up our friendship, I'm sure I've already permanently fucked up any chance I ever had with you, but-"

"-_Alex_-"

"-I still love you. Which I'm sure you already know, since no one can keep a fucking secret around here," she said quietly. "I love you," she repeated. Her expression quickly softened. "_I love you_…and I…I just thought…you should know."

Alex looked away, running her hand through her hair, Paige's heart filling with joy, her brain still processing Alex's rapid fire speech.

"I can call a cab for you if you want," Alex offered feebly, walking towards the kitchen to grab the phone. With a hand on her wrist, Paige stopped her.

Paige stood, weaving her hand in hers. "You going to let me respond or what?" she asked, laughing breathily.

Alex smiled shyly. "I'm sorry," she sighed, squeezing her hand. 

"Trust me," Paige answered, wrapping her arms around Alex's waist, "that was nothing to be sorry about." And what after seemed like years, Paige finally mustered the courage to kiss her.

Her heart was pounding in her ears as their lips meet hesitantly, much like their first kiss. Alex took advantage of the extra inch or so she had on her, and gently pushed her back onto the couch. The kiss deepened, feeling familiar but at the same time new. Her hands, her lips – _her._ Paige had no idea how she was able to give this up for so long.

The two pulled away only when their found themselves short of breath.

"I love you too," Paige whispered as she pressed her forehead against hers. "And _believe me_ – I could _never_ forget you."

The next morning she woke up in Alex's room, lying with her arms firmly set around her, thanking any possible god or goddess that her two other friends had decided not to show up that night.

Now she was here again, outside Alex's apartment. With a quick look at herself in her compact mirror and a few playful taps on her door, she waited, bracing herself for the inevitable loss of breath, rapid heart palpitations, and rush of blood to the head that she always got when seeing Alex.


	12. I'll Be Ok

**a/n:** Grammatical errors gallore, oh my oh my!**  
**

**Chapter 11:** I'll Be Ok

Alex Nunez, on the other side of the door, was also on a mission: To find something to do with her shit life.

Lying on the couch, starring at the ceiling, she thought over her options for the weekend. She could hang out with Jay and Sean (but there were only so many candy bars in Toronto to be stolen before they'd get caught). She could go out with Ellie (but she couldn't handle all her emo-angst crap). Maybe Hazel was free…

Oh god. Was she really _that bored_ that she even _considered_ spending time with her! Insanity.

She turned off the TV, annoyed with herself for having such disgrosting thoughts. _Disgrosting. _She smiled to herself, realizing she used a word Paige had created…

Ah, _Paige._ Her incredibly beautiful and intelligent girlfriend, who was off in another city, no doubt dazzling everyone with her incredible beauty and intelligence while she was stuck here, more or less vegetating as the world went by around her.

She rolled over, burying her face in the cushion. She found herself smiling again (something she never did often without Paige), happy that they were back together. The long distance thing was going to work, she was sure of it. Sure, it was tough – really, really, tough – but that was okay. Hearing her voice every night before they went to bed was better than nothing. Paige's barrage of emails always made her day. The 4x6 by her bed definitely didn't replace the real thing, but at least it was something.

It was just a matter of sacrificing something for the one that you love, and Alex was pretty damn used to that. Besides, she still had to get her life together, and she wasn't exactly going to force Paige into making all her decisions for her. She had already considered all her options – she could go to college, get a (better) job, save up her money, and move to Kingston. Or stay here and buy a car. Kingston was only a couple hours away; the commute wouldn't be _too_ bad. The only thing she was positive was that she wasn't going to make Paige give up Banting. It was her dream; what kind of asshole of a girlfriend would she be if she made her choose? There were going to be no regrets about their relationship. The last thing she wanted was Paige doubting her.

She considered calling her, but she knew Paige was probably sleeping or nursing a hangover from some exclusive college party, and she didn't want her head to be verbally bitten off. Besides, it was only the second week into the first semester. Paige should use her time getting to know people, like a good first year student should. She didn't need to be harassed by her overly-clingy girlfriend.

She felt a pang of jealousy though, thinking of Paige laughing and joking with other people…but the jealousy quickly faded when she remembered the last night they shared together.

Two weeks ago her life was irreversibly changed. After Mazel (Alex felt it was her duty to give Marco and Hazel an equally stupid nickname) failed to show up to Alex's house for Paige's 'farewell party', Alex had officially stopped being a moron. She finally got her head out of her ass long enough for them to get back together.

And by 'get back together', Paige pretty much jumped Alex.

Not that she minded.

So that night (and a good portion of the morning, of course) they got "reacquainted." It was only until the afternoon that they finally got up from bed to discuss their future plans.

"So, a month and you'll be back?" Alex asked as the two lay on Alex's couch. Paige's face buried into her neck did nothing to ease the immediate feeling of loss, knowing that she'd be going soon.

"Maybe less, maybe more…"

"And only for a weekend?"

"Probably…"

"Hm," was all she could say. She knew she wasn't doing a very good job at hiding her frown, and didn't bother to put on a fake face when Paige's eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Lexi…"

"I know, I know. It's okay, seriously. I'm _honestly_ happy for you. It'll just be hard to be apart for so long…"

Paige appeared to be swooning at this admission, which made Alex crack a smile. "You're _so_ adorable when you're being sincere," Paige said, holding her closer to her. "It'll be hard for me too. This whole 'learning' thing better be worth it," she joked.

"You'll call, right?"

"And write, and email, and text, and smoke signal – everything, I promise. It'll be like I never left. Now let's get out of here, my parents were expecting us like an hour ago," she said, standing and attempting to pull Alex off the couch.

Now, on the same couch, she began to dose off at the memory, a smile of contentment crawling across her face. The smile quickly disappeared, when a cheerful knock on Alex's door shook her from her almost-sleep.

"Ugh," Alex groaned, choosing to ignore it. Why would some idiot be bothering her so damn early in the (she glanced at the clock) almost afternoon!

Another knock.

"Damnit," she whispered to herself. Suddenly, the phone beside her vibrated.

She read the caller ID. _Paige_. "Hey babe," she answered, her voice slightly scratchy.

"Hi, Lexi!" Paige answered. "What are you doing right now?"

"Aside from planning world domination, absolutely nothing." Paige's laugh rang through the phone, waking Alex up instantly. "You?"

"Nothing, too. You sound sleepy. Were you sleeping?"

"Nah, don't worry. Even if I was sleeping, I don't mind."

Alex could swear she heard her eyes roll. "Cute, hun. A lie, but cute nonetheless. Were you going to go out today?"

"Ah, well I was thinking of going shopping for some flannel, maybe picking up a KD Lang album," she teased, stopping only when she heard Paige's surprised gasp. "Then I was going to stop by the fertility clinic, you know, see if I've got more options from when I was there yesterday, I think I found a sample that described Dylan perfectly..."

Paige sighed in relief. "Ah, you're _funny_. Really, Lexi, you should have a sitcom, you're _hilarious_."

Alex was surprised to hear the knock again. "That's why you love me," she answered smugly, ignoring the door again.

"Among other reasons, sure," Paige laughed. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd postpone your plans and maybe spend the day with me."

Alex laughed. "Paige, I gotta say, your jokes have gotten better."

"Not joking, hun. Let's go out today."

"Sure, I'll just hop in my rocket and meet you in five."

"I'm serious Alex, spend the day with me," Paige said sweetly. Alex laughed sardonically at her persistence.

"I don't think you quite understand the distance factor we have against us…"

The knock came again, louder.

"Ugh, some fucker keeps pounding on the door."

"Aww, maybe you should get it."

"Maybe. Or I could talk to my girlfriend."

A few more firm knocks came.

"Mmm, that _does_ sound better. But it might be important."

"Yeah, or it could be another door-to-door salesman, or Darcy and her Christian youth posse trying to convert me…"

Another series of knocks fell on the door, this time sounding like hard thumps as if the asshole on the other side knew she was home and too lazy to get up.

"Damnit, hold on a sec," she said, relenting.

"Sure, hun."

She pulled open the door, not even bothering to check who it was before starting her rant. "You better me Ma-fucking-donna, 'cause-" Before she could finish, Alex just saw a mass of blonde and pink throw itself at her.

"Finally!" Paige greeted, wrapping her arms around her, making her stumbled back. "It's _so good_ to see you finally," she said gleefully.

"How long have you been standing out there?" Alex asked in shock, returning Paige's firm squeeze.

"Wait! Before I answer," Paige pulled away and gently cupped Alex's cheek before planting a soft kiss on her lips, "Mmm…a few minutes?"

Alex couldn't help the smile that formed as she returned her kiss. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Well that wouldn't have been very fun, would it?" she answered trailing her hand up and down Alex's back, making her shiver.

"But we could've been doing _this_," she said, giving her another kiss, "sooner."

"Good point," she said, giving her a quick peck her check before pulling away and closing the door behind her. "Home alone?"

"Yeah," Alex answered, taking her hand and leading her to the couch. "I thought you were busy all weekend, couldn't come home."

"I did too. But Jay gave me a call and said you were 'a damn loser' when I wasn't around," Paige teased.

Alex rolled her eyes. "He's the damn loser. Wait, since when did you two talk?"

"Oh," Paige said, nonchalantly, "we've just reached an understanding."

"And what does that mean?" Alex asked, put off.

"You still haven't told me about why you were with Spin that night…"

"That's different."

"How?"

Alex scowled. "Fine. You win."

"Of course I do. And as my reward," Paige said, standing up and pulling Alex with her, "let's go out. We can go to a movie, have lunch, meet up with friends, shop for matching flannel tops and if you're good, come back here later tonight." Paige took hold of Alex's arms and wrapped them around her waist.

Alex couldn't help buy grin like an idiot. Holding her like this made _every _sacrifice worth it. Every issue she had in her life disappeared whenever she was around.

"As tempting as all this sounds, I'm incredibly broke. So why don't we just fast-forward through all that and get to the good part," Alex offered, playfully pulling on Paige's earlobe with her teeth.

"The flannel shopping?" Paige giggled, until Alex's actions threw her off tangent for a moment. "But we should go out-" she pulled away, but Alex's lips found hers before she could finish her thought. Alex laid her down on the couch, thankful that they were alone. Their kisses intensified, only separating to catch their breath.

"So let's go out?" Alex whispered. Paige looked up at her dumbly, seemingly incapable of forming coherent thought.

"Mmm? Oh, right," she smiled, flustered. "Wait, do what?"

"Something about going out and getting matching tattoos and piercings…" Alex joked, leaning forward once more, before Paige placed a finger on her lips.

"I remember now, thanks," Paige smirked, gently pushing Alex off so she could sit up. "You're broke, I'm broke…but Jay's extreme generosity is going to help pay for today, if we actually _do_ manage to get out..." Alex tensed at her words.

"What? Jay?"

"Yeah…He told me he'd pay for my trip if I came back for the weekend," Paige said cautiously. "The first thing I asked him was if he was expecting some prostitution-like service if I accepted and he said no," she said lightly, hoping to ease the tension. "Then I asked him if he got the money legally and he said yes. Good enough for me…right?"

"Yeah," Alex said, scratching her head. "He doesn't even have a job…"

"Well he mentioned something about winning a bet. Probably some stupid sport thing or whatever," she said off-hand.

"But Marco and Hazel haven't even given…"

"What about Marco and Hazel?" Paige asked curiously.

Alex snapped out of her thoughts before giving her another kiss, distracting her momentarily. "Nothing. But next time we're in the middle of a make out session, try not to mention my ex-boyfriend," she said playfully, tapping her nose against hers. "Let's go spend the kid's money."

The two left Alex's apartment hand-in-hand, not knowing that only a few blocks away, eight of their closest friends were discussing their rekindled relationship.

-/-/-/-/-/-

**a/n:** I should've done this sooner, but here's credit to the bands/artists I ripped the chapter titles off: Abba, Aleksander Denstad With, Stars, Coldplay, Elton John, John Lennon, Embrace, Weezer, Keane, Donny Hathaway, and McFly.


	13. Epilogue

**a/n: ** Sorry it took so long to get these two chapters out. I had some life issues that needed to be sorted out and it basically ripped any inspiration I had to shreds. Hopefully this doesn't suck! And let's pretend Craig is still in Toronto at this point and not being all awesome and hot by chasing his dream in Vancouver. Okay? Good stuff.

**Epilogue **

In July, the group gathered inside The Dot was, to say the least, "tense". Today, on this surprisingly warm September afternoon, they were more relaxed around each other – almost as if they were all friends _without_ issues.

There was Ellie, sitting between Jimmy and Craig and laughing and joking comfortably with both of them. Craig's arm was slung around her shoulders, while Jimmy teased them relentlessly at their pseudo-'just friends' status.

Across from Jimmy was Jay, still the recipient of glares from everyone seated at the table, but this time joining in the conversation and being surprisingly nice to everyone. Dylan seemed too content to even bother snapping at Jay, and Spinner (by some miracle) even greeted him with a smile. Hazel and Marco truly were miracle workers for managing to get them to sit together in peace.

"It's been almost a month since Paige left and I know me and Hazel still haven't told you guys who the winner is. To be honest, we don't even know," Marco started as soon as he managed to get their group to quiet down.

"I mean, Paige tells me they got back together before she left, making either Dylan or Jay the winner, but Alex says it was closer to the middle of August, which would mean that Spinner won," Hazel confirmed.

"Although," Marco grinned, "Hazel and I would like to bring up the fact that we were the ones who brilliantly cancelled on them last minute the night we're one hundred percent sure they at least _did it_."

"And that fact that you're so excited about that fact is making me question your sexuality," Dylan joked.

"Come on though," Ellie said, rolling her eyes. "Like Alex honestly expected _Hazel_ to spend the night."

"I have before!" Hazel defended. Jay gave her a curious smile. "_Paige was there_," she said directly to Jay.

"Keep going," he said, his perverted grin growing.

"Shut up, Jay," Hazel said, hiding the blush she felt as Jay pat her arm playfully.

"Why would they tell us different days?" Jimmy wondered, ignoring Hazel and Jay's obvious flirtation. "Alex has to be lying…or they really could've been together that long and kept it from us…"

"Unlikely. I share a wall with Paige," Dylan said, shuddering. "If they were back together then, I would've known."

"They could've known about the bet, try to throw us off?" Craig asked.

"Then why would they say Spin and Jay won, when they're both ex-boyfriends. Who they both don't really like," Ellie countered.

Spinner agreed, nodding his head quickly.

Hazel looked at him suspiciously but went on. "Exactly. Well, according to them, me, Marco, Craig, Ellie and Jimmy are ineligible to get the money."

"I don't want the money," Spinner said, surprising everyone around the table. "So what, I lost $20. Not the end of the world."

"I don't want it either," Dylan agreed.

Marco barely kept in his gasp. "But baby, you said-"

Dylan shrugged. "Paige is happy, so I already won."

Jay let out an obnoxious, "Aww!"

Everyone turned to Jay, expecting him to forfeit the money as well. "What?" he asked.

They all let out grumble before Marco placed the envelope of cash in front of him.

"Don't use it to buy drugs," Marco advised sternly as the group began to disperse.

"Hey, I'll have you know that this money is going to a really good cause!" Jay defended, slipping the envelope into the inside pocket of his jacket. Everyone got up, starting to leave.

"The 'I Got An STD From Jay Hogart, So I Need A Cure' fund?" Ellie snapped as she helped Jimmy wheel out.

"Close, actually," Jay answered, smugly. "I was going to give it to Paige and Alex. As a charitable donation!"

The others turned to face him, mouths agape.

Then suddenly they laughed, Spinner even patting him on the back at his 'hilarious' joke.

"What?" he yelled out feebily at their retreating backs. "I'm serious!"


End file.
